1. Introduction

The overall objective of the GAC project is to ensure that women and girls are healthy and safe and influence their communities during and post the COVID-19 pandemic. The project runs from April 2021 – March 2022 and includes 6 IRC countries who all have existing SRH and WPE programming and who have expressed interest in more integrated approaches to improve safety and health outcomes for women and girls.

The aim of the proposed project is to improve the health and safety of women and girls, with a focus on those with reduced access to SRH and GBV response services during COVID-19. The IRC will deliver an essential and life-saving integrated package of GBV and SRH interventions to 204,207 women, adolescent girls, and men, including IDPs and refugees, in six countries where minimal to no GBV and SRH services exist and humanitarian needs are high. Activities are based on the specific individual needs in each country using integrated approaches that work toward integrated health and safety outcomes as outlined below:

1. Established and improved quality of GBV/SRH services

2. Socially supported women and girls who have the information, power and resources to decide if they wish to seek SRH/GBV services during COVID-19.

3. Increased demonstrative capacity in participation of women and girls in COVID-19 GBV/SRH programming.

2. Objective

The IRC will be developing a GAC learning brief to document some selected elements of learning from the GAC project ”Women and girls’ health and safety needs in Chad, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and DRC are addressed and met during COVID-19 in 2021/22”.

3. Selected resources to be included in GAC Learning Brief

1. Packard assessment on COVID-19 specific barriers to achieving SRH and safety outcomes (Dec 2021)

2. GAC learning assessment on IRC staff perspectives on SRH/WPE integration (Jan 2021)

3. Safe abortion care case studies from Nigeria, DRC, Pakistan

4. Explore IA learning briefs and other GAC related country documents

4. Scope of the work

The consultant will be expected to undertake:

1. Review background documents that concern the GAC project and aspects of learning in relation to the project objectives and activities (1 day)

2.Prepare a template for the learning brief and share with AMU and the responsible TA (1 day)

3. Prepare a draft Learning Brief to be shared with AMU and selected (S)TAs for feed-back (4 days).

4. Finalize Learning brief to be submitted to the (2 day)

The consultant will be responsible for their own logistical requirements such as office space, administrative and secretarial support, telecommunications, printing of documentation, and accommodation arrangements. This includes securing data bundles for interviews and coordination meetings. The consultant will be home-based.

5. Deliverables

The consultant is expected to deliver:

1. A draft Learning Brief for review by AMU and TAs/STAs by (date)

2. A final Learning Brief by (date)

6. Expected Timeframes:

The Learning Brief will be completed in 8 working days over 2 weeks (before the end of January 2022) starting from date of agreement signing.

7. Intellectual Property Rights

All products arising from this assessment will be owned by IRC. The consultant will not be allowed, without prior authorization in writing, to present any of the analytical results as his or her work or to make use of the assessment results for private publication purposes.

8. Quality & Ethical Standards

The consultant should take all reasonable steps to ensure that the assessment is designed and conducted to respect and protect the rights and welfare of the people and communities involved and to ensure that the assessment is technically accurate and reliable, is conducted transparently and impartially, and contributes to organizational learning and accountability. The consultant will also commit to adhering to IRC Way and Code of Conduct.

9. Qualification of Consultant

The following qualification, competencies, and skills are required to successfully carry out this assignment:

Specific skills and experience sought:

- Post-graduate degree in health research or social sciences, social work, gender studies, development Studies and/or related field - Expertise in Qualitative and quantitative information collection, analysis, and reporting. - Experience in working with, donors, youth, civil society, adolescent girls, women, and being able to interact with a variety of stakeholders at different levels. - Has experience in conducting mix-methods program evaluation, research/assessments. - Knowledge of relevant (sub)sectors in humanitarian contexts, Community Mobilization, WPE, SRH, and Gender Equality. - Excellent writing, communications, and presentation skills in English - Ability to write clear and useful reports (examples of previous work will need to be submitted). - Ability to manage the available time and resources and meeting deadlines - Independence from IRC, program stakeholders or other parties involved.

10. Contact Details:

Interested applicants can send their technical and financial proposal along with CVs, sample reports along with other required documents by 6th December 2021 to the following address:

Email: [email protected]

11. IRC Core Values & Commitments:

The IRC workers and partners/consultants must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Adult Safeguarding, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity Anti-Retaliation and Combating Trafficking in Persons.

IRC is committed to ensuring that consultant is suitable to work with children and women / girls and have the knowledge s/he needs to uphold and abide by the IRC’s Child and Adult Safeguarding Policy.

Level of interaction with clients: None

IRC recognizes that gender equality is fundamental to the achievement of our organizational mission. As such, IRC is committed to the promotion of gender equality in all aspects of our operations and programs. Our organizational policies, procedures and actions demonstrate this commitment.

Women candidates and persons with disability are highly encouraged to apply.